Chapter 458 Farmhouse
With steel in the left hand and coal in the right hand, we will expand the scale, become bigger and stronger, and create greater glory.
If we count the businesses under the large Sur Group, the most stable, lowest-risk and most suitable for expansion is the energy industry.
The development of any country in the world is inseparable from coal and steel. The millennium is also a turning point for globalization, and the world has entered a golden period of development.
This means that the demand for coal and steel in the sea is increasing. Not to mention far away, even in India's neighboring Southeast Asia, the development there can be said to be changing with each passing day.
In the past few years, we were still exporting coal and steel, but we have been gradually tightening our control since this year, and we even intend to inquire about imports from the international market.
With strong domestic demand, a large number of infrastructure projects have been put on the agenda, and the number is increasing.
This can be seen from the export orders of steel mills in Goa. 80% of the steel is bought by Dongda, while the proportion was 25% two years ago.
Such a rapid increase naturally attracted the attention of the steel plant manager Nambiya, who made a market analysis report and submitted it to Ron.
After reading the report, Ron immediately had an idea in his mind. He knew that the University of Tokyo was about to become an infrastructure maniac.
Not only that, India's real estate market itself is also becoming increasingly prosperous.
The situation is very clear. Domestic demand is expanding and the external market is showing signs of heating up.
Without any hesitation, Ron immediately prepared to acquire several more iron mines in Goa to increase the steel plant's annual output to 2 million tons.
Karnataka and Odisha are also included in the scope of investigation, and he is not satisfied with just this one steel plant.
Ron plans to build two or three more steel mills to increase Sur Steel's total output to about 5 million tons within five years.
One can be built in Dhanbad, Bihar, where there is abundant coal and using local materials can save a lot of costs.
Chennai was Ron's second choice, where he had his own Ennore Port, where iron ore and coal could all be shipped by shipping.
In addition, there are many automobile manufacturers in Chennai, which are all major consumers of steel, with annual demands of hundreds of millions of tons.
The one who is close to the water gets the moon first. There is no reason for the Sur Steel Plant to miss such an opportunity.
The Goa Steel Plant, which was acquired two years ago, was operating at an annual loss of approximately US$20 million.
But by the end of 1998, the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis had been completely overcome and the situation had improved.
Last year, the price of steel in the international market increased significantly, with the price of raw material iron ore rising from US$15 per ton to US$20.
The market for formed steel hit rock bottom in 1998, at only $200 per ton. Today, the price is $260.
The 30% price increase means a significant increase in profits. Now the Goa Steel Plant has turned losses into profits and is expected to earn tens of millions of dollars this year.
This is the net profit after deducting tens of millions of dollars in technological transformation costs.
In less than three years, the original $200 million investment will be fully earned back.
As the scale continues to expand, the profits will increase.
Ron was very optimistic about the bulk resource transactions in the next few years, so he struck while the iron was hot and directly planned two new steel mills with a capacity of two million tons.
The increase in production capacity means greater demand for raw materials, and Goa can no longer meet such a large iron ore gap.
The iron ore from Karnataka and Odisha is to be supplied to the steel plant in Dhampa, but it has not yet been sourced in Chennai.
Ron's idea is overseas mining. Chennai is a port city with very developed sea transportation, so both coal and steel can be easily obtained.
He also owns his own shipping company, and everything complements each other.
In order to maximize profits and ensure long-term stable supply, it would be best for the Sur Steel Plant to have its own mining industry.
Looking at overseas markets, the places that can provide large quantities of coal and iron ore are mostly Australia, Brazil, and Africa.
Australia's mining industry is already very developed, and all the mines that have been explored are owned by European and American multinational corporations.
Most parts of Africa are too backward, with almost no infrastructure. Railways and ports have to be built by themselves, which requires huge investment.
Furthermore, the local political situation is constantly changing, making it difficult to predict. If a new warlord comes to power, all previous investments will be wasted.
After comprehensive screening, parts of Brazil and South Africa are the most suitable.
Unfortunately, Ron's business is mostly domestic, and he lacks overseas channels. If he wants to negotiate such a cross-border deal, he needs someone to mediate.
There are people in New Delhi who specialize in this kind of brokerage business. They are active in various regions around the world. The more chaotic the place, the more likely they are to appear.
Rana is a well-known broker in the circle. He once helped Tata acquire a small coal field in Australia.
Mr. Suhr's invitation was not only a business opportunity for him, but also a great addition to his resume and a dazzling business card.
The meeting took place at Mr. Sur's private residence in the southern suburbs of New Delhi.
A "hut," as it was called in the colonial era, literally means an ordinary or even small bungalow.
But in India, a former British colony, the British used this word to refer to the detached villas of colonial officials.
So in most cases, these houses are actually large and spacious.
In modern New Delhi, the word has become euphemistic, called "farmhouse".
There are certainly no crops here; in the 1970s, regulations stipulated that the land around Delhi was reserved for agricultural use.
But Delhi's elite at the time began grabbing large tracts of land on the city's outskirts to build private properties.
To comply with regulations in name only, even if they did not in fact, they called their new house a "farmhouse."
This is important because many of the earliest "farmhouses" were built by the very bureaucrats and politicians who wrote the laws.
They have to be very correct and for them to have an illegal name is an offense to their institution.
In the decades since, the number of “farmhouses” around Delhi has increased dramatically.
Often, after changing hands several times and a long enough period of time, the land that was previously seized becomes legal.
Not only that, these "farmhouses" have also become a symbol of life for wealthy people from the city with extensive connections.
Only on such an exclusive property could the outrageous parties, car collection, sculpture gardens and unrestrained Australian wildlife be possible.
No other Indian city's urban elites are as immersed in pastoral tranquility as Delhi's.
This is the temperament of Delhi, the center of power.
The rich here are actually a group of people with a typical convention temperament. They socialize endlessly in numerous clubs and various corridors, and that's how they make money.
But it is surprising that they choose to stay away from city life.
Unlike the rich in Mumbai or New York, who dream of apartments with dazzling city views overlooking the source of their wealth.
Delhi's wealthy, on the other hand, are uninterested in the hustle and bustle of the streets and sidewalks, which were once the pride of big cities.
They prefer to wake up to an empty, mowed lawn that stretches all the way to a fence topped with barbed wire.
As for the original owners of these lands, the farmers, they appear here with another way of life.
A large number of poor people work as cleaners and security guards in homes or offices here but cannot afford to live here.
The “farmhouse” has farmers, but they are not the owners.
In line with the mentality of adapting to local customs, Ron also has his own farmhouse in the southern suburbs.
Sunshine City is too prosperous and mostly consists of high-rise apartments, which lacks some wildness.
He needed to welcome guests from all over the world as the host of Delhi and never make himself appear out of place.
Of course, if he were in Mumbai, he would live in the prosperous Malabar Hill and admire the city that brought him endless wealth from the top of the city.
The climate in New Delhi in November is just right. The tenacious frangipani flowers are in full bloom, cleverly dotted in the yard and in tune with the security guards on duty.
Rana drove towards the "farmhouse" and the security guard waved him to go forward.
As evening approaches, only the flowers that bloom at night sway their fragrance in the air.
Under the velvety sky, the glass building in front of Rana shone like a huge yellow aquarium.
He parked the car as instructed by the security guard and walked along the dimly lit path. At each corner there was a security guard waiting to point him to the next corner.
The security guards passed him down like a relay. Behind him, the intercom kept sending confirmation sounds that he had arrived.
Lana had no idea how many corners he had turned, nor did he know the full appearance of this "farmhouse", but it was terrifyingly huge.
The building looks like two space stations, one made of glass and one of stone, intertwined with each other.
One of them was suspended in mid-air, a glittering bridge leading to nowhere, and lights flashing below it like landing lights.
Everything about the stone one was incredibly ancient. The corners were straight and sharp, and the paths were lined with decorative grooves neatly paved with gravel.
The security guards asked Rana to go through the house to the pool in the back, and they pointed to a walkway with floor lights.
The sliding door in front of the hallway was halfway closed, covering one side of the entrance. He walked towards the other open side, and at that moment, Lana heard the security guard yell at him not to go in.
But it was too late, he had already hit a piece of glass. The glass door was too clean, there was no reflection at all.
Even though he was knocked down and stumbled, and bent over to cover his nose, Lana still didn't feel that there was a door in front of him.
The security guards burst into laughter, and one of them ran over to help the stupid guest, telling him to go in through the door instead of through the glass.
It was a normal door, and the security guard demonstrated how to open it so that Lana wouldn't hurt himself again.
After walking through the house, he suddenly saw a large hall in front of him, decorated like a five-star hotel.
Brightly colored velvet lampshades hung from the high ceiling, and leather sofas were placed around several crystal tables.
There were huge canvases on the walls, the kind that were very avant-garde and had a touch of body art in them, and there were speakers hidden in the walls throughout the building, blasting lounge music.
Lana came out and walked to the other side of the house. Here, the private swimming pool was shimmering with a faint blue light, making everything look mysterious and charming.
He was taken to a seat by the pool, where a waiter placed a glass and an unopened bottle of water in front of him.
"Sir, you'll be here soon." The servant slowly retreated.
Lana looked around in amazement. This "farmhouse" was too plain and simple.
(End of this chapter)
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